The Moral of the Story
by Katrapolis
Summary: It was like one of Ron's awful Divination predictions – Draco Malfoy fancied her.  Hermione had come up with a plan to make sure he finally got his just desserts, but things very seldom go how they should.  Maybe Mum really did know best…
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm rather obsessed with proverbs at the moment, which is why they form the backbone of this story. Also, working with JKR interview material that states Hermione returned to finish her seventh year while the boys did not, so that's why she's still about. As for the Slytherins… all in good time my lovelies

Summary: It was like one of Ron's awful Divination predictions – Draco Malfoy fancied her. Hermione had come up with a plan to make sure he finally got his just desserts, but things very seldom go how they should. Maybe Mum really did know best…

Rating: T for language.

Ch. 1 summary: In which a conversation overheard brings more discomfort than good tidings.

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><p>The Moral of the Story<p>

Ch. 1: Eavesdroppers never hear anything they want to

He fancied her – there was no two ways about it.

Ginny had always prided herself on her ability to keenly observe others. As a child she had always noticed things like how people waved their hands when they talked or the different smiles her mom had for each of her children. But as a true skill, it was something she'd learned during her disastrous first year. After all, when one is keeping a secret like an evil diary, one has to be aware of their surroundings. So Ginny had learned to recognize nonverbal cues from her friends and peers. It became a sort of survival mechanism that she never really unlearned.

It had been fairly simple at first, like noticing how tight McGonagall's mouth got before she took points. But gradually she started to take note of the little things people around her did in different situations. Like the way Ron clenched his jaw whenever a bloke glanced at Hermione for too long. Or how Harry absently ran his fingers across his side during conversations about quidditch.

Of course, she wasn't exactly using her powers for evil. Instead, she kept what she knew to herself, not wanting to embarrass or torment her friends. She used her observations to bring laughter to those around her, giving wicked impersonations of everyone from Snape to Neville.

Sighing, she flopped back in her chair. The library was almost deserted thanks to the sunny weather. For late September it was almost balmy out and most of the student body was determined to make the most out of it. Not that she begrudged anyone their happiness. Since the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the wizarding world seemed to still be almost in disbelief that it was over. Everyone had a new appreciation for the good times it seemed.

Ginny's eyes absently flitted over the parchment in front of her. It was no use really, her mind was still in the Charms hallways, trying to accept the very obvious conclusion she had finally come to.

Draco Malfoy really and truly fancied her. And she was positive that he was in complete and utter denial about it.

Looking back, she was almost ashamed to admit how obvious it was. From their first real interaction in Umbridge's office, the cues had all been there. The way his gaze had lingered on her longer than even on Harry (and Merlin knew how obsessed with the boy hero he was). How he ran his hand through his hair while he taunted her. It was so obvious! How his breath had hitched when she'd lent in to snatch her wand out of his fingers. His eyes had gone wide, he faltered in his stance. No, Malfoy had finally lost his cool composure in that office and she'd hexed the living daylights out of him without even realizing what had happened.

When she saw him in the halls the next year, he was studiously looking at anything but her. While he had never really gone out of his way to tease her in the past, he had never passed up the opportunity to comment on her old robes or red hair either. Now, he'd clench his jaw and flex his left hand as she neared, but his expression would never change. At the time she had shrugged it off, naively assuming that he had finally matured enough to leave her alone. Maybe he was even frightened of her.

It was too good to last. After Christmas things had changed again but in the most unusual way. She groaned, rolling her head back to stare at the vaulted ceiling. Not for the first time since she'd reached the library she contemplated how glaring obvious it all was.

It was maybe a week after the break when she started catching him staring at her in the Great Hall. Sometimes she'd even find him staring between classes. As soon as she'd meet his gaze, he'd drop his eyes to his plate or turn to one of his friends. Had it been any other boy – really, if it had even been Monty Blackbriar who had been dating boys longer than she had - she would have immediately recognized that covert attraction for what it was. But no, instead she had briefly wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps he was plotting some new way to torment her brother and friends? Expressionless as he was, she could only guess at what he wanted.

It was late April when she first saw a flicker of something new.

Ginny had just left a trying Defense class with Snape. He had docked her ten points for being unable to name five reasons why werewolves should be segregated from wizarding society. _Not unable_, she thought angrily, _just unwilling. They're no more dangerous than overgrown greasy dungeon bats!_ She stormed down the corridor, unmindful of her path. So it was really no surprise when she slammed straight into an opening door.

"Bloody hell!" she yelled, clutching her throbbing forehead. "Watch what you're doing!"

"It would be a Weasley given how many of you there scurrying around," a familiar voice drawled. Ginny scowled, still rubbing her aching head. _That is most certainly going to bruise,_ she thought.

"Of course it was you. Who else would be so nonchalant about nearing knocking someone unconscious," she said with an exasperated sigh. She finally dropped her hand to glare at Malfoy. He was smirking at her, hand still on the offending door.

"I'd hardly deem you in danger of passing out. One would only be so lucky – even a few minutes spared from your grating voice would be worth it," he returned, amusement lacing through his voice.

"Charming as ever ferret," she snapped. She glanced at the room he'd been leaving. "Any particular reason to visit the girl's toilet? Been holding out on us have you?" She raised an eyebrow. Malfoy in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom – now that certainly was unusual. She looked casually down the hall and was half surprised Harry hadn't been lurking behind a statue or something. His obsession with Malfoy was putting Malfoy's earlier obsession with him to shame.

Draco's jaw immediately snapped shut with an audible click. His lips were tense, as if he was almost… afraid. _No, that's not right. He's definitely uneasy though. I wasn't supposed to notice that._

"Not that it's any of your business, but there was a complaint about Myrtle and as a Prefect it was my duty to check it out," he said, his words clipped. He moved to fully leave the doorway, letting the door swing shut behind him.

"Yes and we all know how dedicated you are to the concept of duty," she said dryly, rolling her eyes at his obvious lie. He tensed at her words, and for a moment she saw fear color his features. Just as quickly, it disappeared again.

"Well no one would expect a _Weasley_ to understand the concept well enough to pass that kind of judgment," he spat, his lips curling into a sneer. Without waiting for her to reply, he brushed past her, moving briskly down the corridor and then down the stairs. She was left staring after him, completely perplexed.

Ginny rubbed her eyes with her palms, groaning in frustration. She knew now what he'd been doing in that bathroom. Really, she had taunted him about his inability to follow through on his obligations right after he'd likely had a breakdown about the same thing. Granted, prefect duties and killing Albus Dumbledore weren't even in the same quidditch pitch- but still, her words had struck close enough to home to bother him.

Pushing the thought aside, she couldn't help but wince as she went through the memory again, seeing all of the signs she'd missed. When he'd first spoken, it had been in dry humor, as if they were friends or at least acquaintances who didn't hate each other. Given how their last conversation had ended with massive bats flying out of his nose, it was truly surprising. He hadn't turned nasty (or as nasty as he was normally known for) until she had brought up his well known lackadaisical attitude to the actual responsibilities of being a prefect.

Until she noticed what room he'd been leaving, he had been twisting his thumb and forefinger of his right hand around the seam on the side of his robes. She hadn't paid it much mind at the time, but now she recognized it from watching him and Pansy through most of her third year. And she'd seen it in the beginning of fifth year when he would walk with that Ravenclaw, Marietta, or something. He only did that around girls he was attracted to but had no idea how to express it. When he'd finally land the girl, the tick disappeared.

"Oh finally! I've been looking for you for ages!" Hermione pulled a chair out and sat across from her, pushing her discarded parchment to the side. "You sure ran out of that hallway so fast! What did Malfoy say to you anyway? I rather thought he hadn't been as much of a git this year."

Ginny grimaced, sitting up in her seat. Hermione placed her bag on the table and stared at her expectantly. Ginny sighed softly, wondering how exactly to phrase what she'd overheard.

"He didn't say anything to me, but I overheard him talking to Nott and Zabini," she started, playing with a strand of her red hair. "I guess I really should listen to Mum's advice, eavesdroppers never do hear anything they want to." Hermione smiled at this, well aware of how Mrs. Weasley's words were almost prophetic at times.

"Well now you've got me all curious! Given how shocked you looked I'm assuming it was worse than the normal 'you wear old robes' or 'you have red hair' tripe he's been trotting out for ages." Reflecting back on the conversation between the three boys again, Ginny groaned, banging her head down onto the desk.

"Hermione… it was so so _so_ much worse than any of that…" Concerned, the older witch leant across the small space, gently touching Ginny on the shoulder.

"Are you alright? Is it something serious? Should we tell Professor McGonagall?" she asked, her face twisted with worry. Ginny sighed, pulling herself back up. She rested her elbows on the table to cradle her face between her hands.

"No, it's not like it's the end of the world or anything." She paused at her words. "Although, maybe it is. I don't know, I feel sort of catatonic – it was like the last possible thing I could ever imagine."

Hermione bit her lower lip, clearly struggling to keep her curiosity in check. All the Weasleys were known for their epic temper, and while Ginny may be the smallest one, fate had clearly dealt her an ample share of it. Since she was unsure of what had upset her friend, she figured it might be safest to wait for Ginny to get the words out. She couldn't resist a little nudge though.

"Gin… you're not really making me feel like it's not something serious…"

Ginny blinked hard, furiously racking her brain for any other reason to explain what she had overheard and what she had seen with her own eyes. She let out a small growl of frustration when she was led back to the inevitable conclusion.

"I've checked at least four times already, but be a love and tell me if the sky is falling, because Draco Malfoy fancies me."

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><p>Whatever Hermione had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. She stared at the red head before her, for once without a single thought flying through her mind. It was official, Hermione Granger had finally been shocked senseless – rendered completely incapable of processing even the most basic of information.<p>

Ginny slowly opened her eyes when the expected shrieking did not in fact happen. Hermione was staring at her, jaw dropped, with something akin to sheer disbelief written across her face. She smiled weakly which jogged Hermione's mind back into action.

"You – no- I mean- what? Really?" Hermione inwardly cringed at her complete lack of eloquence, but her rational brain couldn't seem to get a grasp on her words. Ginny nodded grimly, face still in her hands.

"Got it in one." The two sat in silence, each lost in the same train of thought. _What the hell had happened to Draco Malfoy?_

Hermione cleared her throat uncomfortably, causing Ginny to raise her unfocused gaze from the desk to her friend.

"I think it's safe to say that your fears about the world ending imminently are indeed well founded," she said stiltedly. An idea struck her and she quickly tore into her bag, pulling out a sheet of parchment and a quill.

Ginny fought back a laugh at Hermione's almost childlike exuberance. It was one of her tells for when she had been struck with a brilliant idea. Her entire face would light up and she would slightly bite her lower lip with her right incisor.

"Right, you are going to tell me exactly how you know this, and then we are going to use this to our advantage," she said, happily jotting down _Evidence of Malfoy's Attraction to Ginny_ across the top of the parchment. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"Our advantage? What are you proposing here? A minute ago you were just as horrified as I was," Ginny said. Hermione shot her a smug smile.

"Well if the biggest git to ever disgrace the halls of Hogwarts is keen on the sister of one of his worst enemies, I daresay there is comeuppance written in the stars for him this week." Their eyes met and they both broke into raucous laughter. Madam Pince swiftly descended and demanded quiet in the library. Both girls quelled their laughter long enough to nod and feign abashment for the librarian to be satisfied and retreat back into the stacks. Another quick glance and they smiled again at each other.

"And here I thought you hated Divination," Ginny said with a chuckle.

"I've been beginning to think maybe Trewaley was onto something. Malfoy lusting after a Weasley after everything he's done to Ron? And considering how close you and Harry are, it does seem a bit like fate has finally decided to give him his due," Hermione replied. With a broad grin, she turned back to the task at hand, missing Ginny blanching at the mention of Harry.

"Now, you say he fancies you. How do you know?" Ginny sighed, irritated that she kept doing it so much. She hadn't been much for sighing in the past; this was clearly a sign that Malfoy was set on earth to irritate her even when he wasn't physically present. She sighed again.

"Well what I overheard suddenly made all of his past behavior towards me make sense. I told you about how I surprised him to get my wand in Umbridge's office, yeah?" Hermione glanced up, nodding at her friend. Her quill hovered about the parchment, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"When I was thinking about it before you came in, I realized why I was able to startle him. You know Malfoy, he's always on his toes so it's not like he's usually bested so easily. Anyway… Merlin I can't believe I'm saying this," she said, rubbing her forehead with her hand. "When I leaned in to grab my wand… I think he thought I was going to kiss him or something. His eyes got all big and he wasn't breathing normal." Hermione was furiously scribbling down _Umbridge's Office fifth year – Ginny goes to steal wand, Malfoy breathing irregularly, wide eyes. Anticipation of kiss_.

"So yeah, he totally had his guard down and he almost fell over when I got in close, like he really couldn't believe I was going to do it. And then I pretty much hexed his balls off," she said, shrugging her shoulder. Hermione let out a short laugh, shaking her head at the image.

"Must have been quite the sight! Are you sure there were no signs before this?"

Ginny thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I honestly can't recall anything, but there must have been. True he's a bloke and they'll take just about anything they're given, but for him to let his guard down for a Weasley? It's … unnatural," she finished, waving her hands around her hand. Hermione smiled, her shoulders shaking with repressed laughter as she wrote _Prior to fifth year, not obvious but solid attraction must have existed for out of character response_.

"Okay, so that was the end of fifth year. What happened sixth year then? Or did he go off you for a bit?" Hermione asked, chewing on her bottom lip.

"For the first half of the year he completely ignored my existence. And then after hols, he was constantly staring at me." Hermione raised an eyebrow at this, but dutifully wrote, _Sixth year - Avoided Ginny for first term, observed her frequently during second._

"Ginny you really should have said something. Given what he was up to… it could have been really dangerous!" she admonished, giving her friend a stern look as she completed the final word. Ginny shrugged but avoided Hermione's eyes. She didn't like the older witch thinking her incapable of recognizing danger.

"I know but I honestly thought it was nothing. Looking back on it now it's clear that he was – well checking me out," she said, flushing a slight red. It was hard to help – it was flattering to be found attractive by a boy, even one as rotten as Malfoy.

"How did you know he wasn't plotting some evil scheme?" Hermione asked, fighting a grin at Ginny's obvious discomfort. The redhead squirmed under her gaze, awkwardly waving her hand towards the parchment.

"He… well I mean… oh bollocks, you know that look Ron gives you right before he snogs you? That sort of 'you're the last bit of treacle fudge' and he's never been so hungry in his life?" Hermione mumbled and blushed red enough to make even a Weasley raise an eyebrow. "Well I might not have been the last bit of fudge in the box, but I was certainly a piece he didn't want to miss," she finished. She leaned forward in time to see Hermione write, _Looked at her like she was fudge_, before she burst out in giggles.

"Hermione! It was just a description! Can't you put 'gazed adoringly' or something? If you write that it sounds like he's Dudley for Merlin's sake!" Hermione smiled, remembering the summer reunion between Harry and his relatives.

All the Weasleys – plus honorary Weasleys Harry and Hermione – had met up with the Dursleys in London for a meal and to make amends. Petunia and Dudley had taken their magical companions in stride – not cowering too much every time Arthur had asked inane questions about muggle electronics. Vernon had been surly and taciturn but no one had really paid him any mind. Things were actually going pretty well until they had gotten lunch. Hermione was used to Ron's less that civilized eating habits but Dudley's were shocking even still. If she hadn't seen it for with her own two eyes, she wouldn't have believed it was possible, but watching him shovel food into his mouth was almost horrifying. The way he had looked at the hot fudge sundae dessert had been almost sexual. She laughed, shaking her head to clear the memory. Readjusting her grip on her quill, she crossed out the fudge statement and instead wrote, _Looks full of attraction and longing_. Ginny leaned over to read it, nodding at the revised sentence.

"Much better. Right, so then in late April, I ran into him. It was the first time we'd spoken since the hexing in Umbridge's office. Anyway, he wasn't extremely nasty to me at first, and he was doing this thing with his hand," she began, trying to find a way to phrase it. "Like he was playing with the hem on his robe, and I'd seen him do that before when he was with Parkinson or Marietta." Hermione scrunched her nose at the mention of the traitorous Ravenclaw but jotted down, _Interaction in April – body language suggested attraction. Same action observed with previous paramours._

"Okay, so what happened in – well I guess I can't call it seventh year since technically this is my seventh year so I guess-" Hermione rattled off. Ginny shook her head, bemused at how quickly Hermione could lose track of a conversation.

"Well the next year I didn't pay too much attention to him. I was busy with DA meetings and just trying to keep out from under the Carrows and Snape. He wasn't as visible as he usually is either. I think he was laying low too. It was a tough year," Ginny said softly, looking out onto the grounds again.

She never really told Hermione what it had been like, that year that the Death Eaters had run the school. It had been life in a constant state of fear – so perpetual that eventually one just had to mentally check out of it all. Ginny still found it rather ironic; the one year where her skills of reading people were probably the most useful was the one where she was rendered unable to do so out of sheer necessity. Had she spent her time reading those around her she wouldn't have been able to handle the stress of surviving. It had been a lot harder than she had ever let the others know.

Hermione sensed her friend's reluctance to talk about that year – _The lost year,_ she thought, shaking her head softly. Instead of offering any surely unwelcome words on the subject she merely wrote instead, _Following year – no observed attraction/interactions_. Thoughtfully she chewed her lip.

"Well, even if you didn't notice him last year, he must have noticed you if he still fancies you. How has he been around you so far this year? Before today I mean." Ginny cocked her head to the side, looking towards the ceiling again.

"I guess," she began slowly, "it's a bit like it was in fifth year. He looks at me more than he has reason to, but not at the level it got to after hols. I sort of thought it was because you're back and the boys aren't so I didn't pay much attention to it. He hasn't teased me at all either. Come to think of it, we haven't really spoken since that incident outside the bathroom." Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"The bathroom? When did that happen?"

"Oh, it was that late April fight we had fifth year. He was leaving Myrtle's bathroom and I ran into the door, that's why we started fighting," she said, dismissively waving her hand. Hermione nodded to herself before writing, _Seventh year – has resumed covert observations of Ginny, but not to the previously mentioned level of appreciation_. She tapped her quill against the parchment for a moment, reading over the different pieces of evidence.

"Well I've got to say, this is all pretty convincing even without what you overheard. How come none of us ever saw this before?"

"Probably because it's so impossible that had anyone suggested it we would have thought they were nutters," Ginny replied dryly. Hermione gave her a half smile.

"Very true! Now then, the last piece of the puzzle! What did you overhear in the hallway?" Ginny groaned, burying her face in her hands again.

"Hermione it was so awful! I really should have just listened to Mum!" The other witch clucked her tongue at her friend, tapping her quill against the parchment.

"Yes well, hindsight is twenty-twenty but once we've made a poor decision there's nothing more we can do than accept it and move on! Now, start at the top! You said you overheard him talking to Nott and Zabini. So start with that," she said briskly, poised to take notes. Ginny sighed before leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands against.

"Well we had just gotten out of Care of Magical Creatures and remember I told you I needed to ask Flitwick about that essay due on Monday?" Hermione nodded, and Ginny felt a little smug for how much attention the other girl was giving her. It was almost as if she was explaining the meaning of life or something.

"So as I was going up the stairs there were loads of students coming down. I guess the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins have Charms before lunch together. Anyway, I waited around for the class to empty out before talking to Flitwick quickly. Then when I was walking back down the hall, I heard Malfoy's voice coming from one of those small practice rooms. You know the one with the squeaky hinge? The one that's always empty during rounds?"

"Yes, it's the one that's barely big enough for the desks in it?" Ginny nodded.

"That's the one. So I heard his voice and noticed that the door wasn't pulled shut. Merlin I wish I had listened to Mum!" she said, covering her face with her hands for a second. She sighed, leaning back and dropping her hands into her lap. "Well I crept up next to the door, so I could hear better. Malfoy was telling Zabini to shut up about something, and he sounded really angry."

Hermione tapped her fingers against the desk, thinking about what she was hearing.

"I always thought that friendship was a little odd. I mean out of the seven years of school with them before now, Zabini and Nott never really seemed to close with Malfoy or each other for that matter. And then all three of them turned up this year to finish their schooling. It's a bit odd, don't you think?" she pondered.

"Maybe it's because they're the only Slytherins to repeat the year? Besides, they have been dorm mates this whole time," Ginny replied, dismissing the thought. She really couldn't care less why the three were friends, but they had managed to keep each other out of trouble and weren't tormenting the school. It seemed like a mutually beneficial situation.

"Anyway, Nott started laughing and he told Malfoy that he needed to be honest with himself and just admit that he thought _she_ was fit," Ginny said. "Bear in mind that I don't know who she is at this point, so that's why I kept at the door. You know me with a bit of gossip…" Hermione laughed.

"Then Malfoy snapped at him that he didn't know what he was talking about and that they were both bonkers. Zabini laughed this time, and he said that if that was true then why did Malfoy get so riled up at what he had said. So then Malfoy started sputtering, saying that it wasn't because he liked _her_ but because it wasn't smart to be saying such crass things about her because it was bad form. Nott replied that Malfoy didn't seem nearly as upset when Zabini had said – " Ginny paused, blushing as she remembered exactly what Zabini had said and about who. Hermione glanced at her questioningly. Ginny struggled to phrase it politely for a second before grumbling and giving up

"Oh hell. Zabini had said something vulgar about you in the quidditch locker rooms," she blurted out. Hermione looked shocked at this and opened her mouth to ask when Ginny shook her head. "Just trust me on this one, you don't want to know what he said. Let's just say it involved you, a broomstick and the showers." Hermione blanched and Ginny grimly nodded. "Yeah, that was my reaction."

"Anyway, Malfoy had snapped at Nott to shut up and that's when Zabini said 'why don't you just admit that my wanting to fuck the youngest Weasley gets your knickers in a twist because you want to shag her rotten,'" she said with a grimace. Hermione was scribbling away, her ears a light pink with embarrassment at the language. "Malfoy started yelling at Zabini that it was not true and how dare he and all that, and that's when Flitwick came out of his office and asked me if I'd help him bring some books down to Professor McGonagall's office. I backed away from the door really fast and agreed, and then I passed you on the stairs right as they left the room. I don't know if they knew I heard or not – how did they look?"

Hermione paused her writing, carefully thinking over the three boys' reactions. Nott had his crooked smirk and Zabini seemed his normal, arrogant self. Malfoy had a wild look about him – he had clearly been quite upset, which was why she had assumed he had yelled at Ginny given how shocked she had looked as she walked past Hermione on the stairs.

"It's hard to say. Zabini and Nott were being their normal selves really. Malfoy looked pretty angry but he didn't look panicked like you had found out some big secret or something. I don't know, I'm not that great at reading people I guess," she admitted, finishing up her final observations before gently blowing on the ink to help it dry faster. Ginny absently nodded to herself.

"I expected as much. I'm pretty sure Malfoy is in complete denial about his feelings. He never really struck me as the type to be in touch with them in the first place, so imagine how he'd react to liking someone he's always claimed to hate. I'm rather surprised he's not had a breakdown yet," she mused, running her hands through her hair. "Let me see what you wrote!" She reached over and pulled the list to her side of the table.

Hermione's clear, even handwriting had filled almost half the roll. Ginny quickly scanned the beginning of the list which recapped the previous years before reading the latest addition.

_Ginny overhears Malfoy telling Zabini to shut up. Nott goads Malfoy about admitting attraction to mystery female. Malfoy denies this. Nott makes reference to lewd comment Zabini made about myself and questions why Malfoy's reaction is different to this mystery girl than to myself. Malfoy denies again. Zabini names Ginny as mystery girl, Malfoy has extremely defensive response. Conversation ends with Flitwick interrupting_.

"Sound like what you heard?" Hermione asked, putting her quill back into her bag.

"Yeah, you did a good job of taking the really horrifying bits out," she replied, flushing as she remembered how Zabini had so elegantly phrased his intentions towards her and her friend. Hermione just laughed, taking back the parchment and putting it into her bag as well.

"Come on then, it's time for lunch and we'll need full stomachs to get to the fun part!" The two stood, making their way to the door.

"What's the fun part?" Ginny asked, curling a tendril of hair around her finger. Hermione shot her a wicked smile.

"Why finally giving Draco Malfoy his just desserts of course!"

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><p>Next time:<p>

Ch 2: The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions - In which many plans are conceived to bring happiness to one's friends – without considering all the blasted consequences!)


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2: The road to hell is paved with good intentions (In which many plans are conceived to bring happiness to one's friends – without considering all the blasted consequences!)

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><p>It was official; Blaise Zabini had finally gone too far.<p>

Oh it was one thing to shag half the pureblood witches in jolly old England and then brag about it for days on end. It was (albeit barely) acceptable to have to listen to said witches cry and sob when they realized it was just a fling. Even having to hear all the sordid details wasn't all that bad really. Blaise had always been a sort of Jack the Lad.

However lines did have to be drawn, and talking about one Ginny Weasley as if she were one of his common whores was definitely over that line.

Draco scowled at the fireplace, replaying the earlier conversation in his mind. It wasn't that he _liked _the baby Weasley – _Merlin's beard, my father would eat my liver!-_ no it was how he phrased it.

Blaise truly had a way with words and women. Or rather, a way with words _about _women. Draco wasn't too sure he believed half of the other boy's stories of his sexual escapades, but that didn't stop Blaise from elaborating on every single tryst – real or imagined. Although appreciation for his rather overactive imagination was the last thing on Draco's mind when Blaise had all but yelled in the crowded Charms corridor about how he couldn't wait to spread Ginny's creamy white thighs and taste the - Draco clenched his jaw, banishing the memory. That's how he knew it was too far – if he, _Draco_ _bleeding Malfoy¸_ thought it was too disturbing to even think, well then clearly it was unacceptable. He was, after all, a Malfoy and no one could really say the Malfoys didn't know how to act in public.

…blood feud inspired public brawls between patriarchs aside…

He'd immediately shoved Blaise into the closest open room in a fury. Theo had followed, pushing the door shut as he did. Instead of apologizing for being out of line- _or at least having my fucking back_! - the other two had turned on him, accusing him of having _feelings_ for a _Weasley_! He had been too shocked to even formulate an appropriate rebuttal, but the words had almost physically sickened him. _Honestly, feelings for that pauper_, he thought as his lip curled in disdain. _It might almost be laughable if it wasn't so…horrific._

He'd been in a foul mood ever since and been hell bent on making sure the rest of the school knew it. Stringing a couple firsties up by the ankles in front of the Great Hall probably hadn't been his wisest decision in past months but it was certainly his most satisfying. He grinned savagely at the flames – doing dirty deeds might not pay well but it was sure as hell fun.

"Blaise wanted me to tell you that when you're done having your cry you still owe him help with that potions essay." Draco scowled over at Theodore Nott as he fell into the arm chair next to him.

The Slytherin common room was fairly deserted. It wasn't that it was a dreary and foreboding room – Draco was rather partial to the low lighting and he knew Pansy and Daphne had some sort of weird affinity for the charmed windows that showed the lawns even though they were well below the ground. It was that there seemed to be far fewer Slytherins than ever before. Probably because it was true – Blaise, Theo and he were the only students in the house to repeat seventh year. A fair few parents had pulled their children out after the final battle and sent them to Beaubaxtons or Drumstrang to finish out their education. Plus there were only 4 new first years compared with Gryffindor's cringe worthy 15.

"Yes well Blaise can bugger off. The hell if he thinks I'll help him," Draco grumbled, crossing his arms.

"You're seriously still worked up over that Weasley girl?" Theo asked wryly. Draco shot him a glare.

"I told you before it has nothing to do with her!" Theo shook his head with a small laugh.

"Oh come off it, you couldn't give a shit about any other bird he's gone on about but one comment about her and you're suddenly Draco the Defender of Virtue," he said with a smirk.

"It has nothing to do with protecting her _virtue_! For fuck's sake, you know as well as I do people are listening to what we say! Sweet Merlin if I have to have this conversation one more time-"

"Draco, mate," Theo began, interrupting him with an impatient wave of his hand, "you can prattle on about image and respectability until Salazar himself shows up for tea, but you're a bloody moron if you think this has nothing to do with Weasley."

"Perhaps you should rethink your definition of the word then _Nott_, because it really has nothing to do with her. Why should I care about some filthy blood traitor?" Draco spat as he clenched his hands on the arms of his chair. Theo raised an eyebrow.

"Nott, eh? Is that your attempt to alienate me so you can continue to wallow in your denial? Tell me, _Malfoy_, it's rich that you get off giving Blaise hell for mouthing off on the Weasley girl and _you _just called her a blood traitor – which I'm pretty sure was on your list of fifty things we should never say again." Draco scowled into the fireplace again. Theo smirked.

"Why don't you just admit that you think she's fit and you're hacked off at Blaise for looking at her."

"For the love of – I don't think she's fit!" Draco yelled, running a hand through his hair. He glared fiercely at the other boy. "Why can't you two just admit that you're delusional and let it alone already? Fuck's sake!" Here Theo couldn't help it, and he burst out into a loud laugh.

"I honestly never thought I'd see the day when you had your head further up your own ass then when you thought Pansy Parkinson was, and I quote, 'the fittest bird' you'd ever laid eyes on," he said through his laughter. Draco clenched his jaw, feeling a blush start to rise in his face. Theo managed to fight down his laughter but still sent Draco a broad grin. The blonde sneered in response, turning his attention back to the fire.

"If you're quite finished, you can run along and tell Blaise to fuck off," Draco growled and then added under his breath, "the wanker."

"Ah yes, ordinarily I would delight in such diversions, but since you did lose that game of chess you do owe it to him."

"Why do you care if I help him?" Draco snapped but grudgingly pushing himself out of his chair. Theo grinned broadly.

"Why Draco! Can't I have perfectly altruistic reasons for making sure my friends kiss and make up?" Draco snorted and the two made their way back to the seventh years dorm.

"Right, and I'm the bloody queen of England," the blonde muttered.

"Of course," Theo added, blithely ignoring Draco's remark, "it might have _something_ to do with him promising to let me look over his notes when you two are done as I _did_ help him pull that Hufflepuff last weekend..."

"Leeches, the both of you!"

* * *

><p>"Right, so when you said we were going to give Malfoy his just desserts I had something a bit more… well, <em>mean<em>, in mind," Ginny said, drumming her fingers on her bedspread. "Taking notes on his attraction to me for giggles just doesn't seem like justice would be getting served. This is the boy who has harassed us since childhood after all!"

Hermione had been the only Gryffindor girl to repeat the seventh year, which came in handy for the two friends as they now shared a dorm. Both were sitting on Ginny's bed, the list between them. Hermione sighed with a shrug.

"Well just because he's been nasty the entire time we've known him doesn't really justify us being equally nasty back."

"I think you're missing the point here!" Ginny began, rolling her eyes. "It's not like we're going to destroy him! I just want to teach him a lesson in humility! I mean the sheer _nerve_ of him, thinking that he has any right to look at me-"

"I don't think you can rightly stop him from being keen on you," Hermione interjected. Ginny silenced her with a glare.

"That's not the point! It's the very _idea_! It's just- just absurd! _Malfoy, _I mean honestly," she spat with a grimace. Hermione sighed, turning over different options.

"I don't really know what to do. Knowing he likes you is one thing but something to do about it? I mean we can't just announce it to the school, no one would believe it and he'd never admit to it. I guess I'm not really not that great at scheming."

"Not great at scheming, are you mad? Did you or did you not scheme and plot to take down the darkest wizard in the world? Honestly Hermione, have a bit of faith in yourself," Ginny said with a laugh. The witch in question blushed at the praise.

"Well I suppose it's a bit different when it's boy with a crush as opposed to a madman bent on world domination," she replied.

"There is that," Ginny conceded with a nod.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Hermione said, chewing her bottom lip. Ginny shook her head.

"No no, something _has_ to be done about this! I can't just pretend that we don't know he fancies me! Can't you see how much leverage that gives us? I bet if we played it right we could turn him into a simpering puddle of sonnets and roses come Christmas!" Hermione shot her an incredulous look. "Fair enough, maybe by April?" Hermione laughed.

"Seeing Malfoy waxing poetic over your beauty in the Great Hall would be something extraordinary," she said.

"Please! We can do better than that! Get him to wax poetic and then I'd tell him off, like what would _I_ ever want with a nasty, vile little ferret like him! Could you imagine, it'd pay him back for _years_ of humiliation in minutes!" Ginny exclaimed, her face lighting up with the thought. Years of memories of Malfoy taunting her for her second (or even third) hand robes, her tattered textbooks, even comments about her large family flew through her mind. _Oh yes, it'll be very satisfying to see that git put in his place_, she thought fiercely.

"I suppose he _does_ deserve it… just because he hasn't been spewing his blood politics this year doesn't really absolve his years of general nastiness," Hermione said thoughtfully. She took the parchment into her hands, reading over the list again. "You know, if we want him to be putty in your hands it shouldn't really be too difficult. Considering he's had a lasting attraction to you for going on at least two years now even a little bit of hope should get him right where we want him."

"Fantastic! I do have a question though."

"Hmm?" Hermione asked, her mind working through possible scenarios as she looked over the list.

"What's putty?"

* * *

><p>Blaise Zabini sauntered out of the dungeons on his way to breakfast the next morning feeling more than a little pleased with himself.<p>

School had been in session for under a month and things were coming along just as planned. He'd gotten snogged good and proper by Matilda Warburton just the other night (with promises of many more encounters to come!), classes weren't overwhelming his life yet, and he'd even gone out of his way to plot a way to happiness for one of his best mates. Yes, life for Blaise was definitely looking good.

He grinned at a pretty brunette who blushed as she passed him. _Well if Matilda doesn't work out…_ he thought to himself, glancing over his shoulder at the girl. Smirking, he rolled his shoulders and entered the Great Hall making his way to his customary seat.

In all truth, he hadn't really been close with Draco or Theo for very long. While the three had shared a dorm and classes for years, there had never really been camaraderie between them. Draco had always been wrapped up in bullying younger students and his fanatical devotion to his father and his father's beliefs. Theo had been much more reserved, already accustomed to the gruesome underbelly of loyalty to the Dark Lord with the death of his mother at his father's hands. For him serving the Dark Lord was less of a childhood ambition (as it was for Draco) and more of a stark reality in the face of death if he chose to refuse. Blaise had never really understood the implicit acceptance of obedience to the Dark Lord which both boys had projected. He didn't really care for the politics of the ideology – his wife would be a pureblood of course, but he wasn't interested inactively furthering pureblood supremacy.

Then seventh year – the first time – had come around and things had been markedly different. Draco was no longer a reverent supporter of Voldemort, but rather he had finally seen what Theo had all along. He saw that service to the Dark Lord wasn't a way to glory and power, but a nightmare with a villain who would kill your mother for the hell of it. He had finally come to understand Theo.

The year had put everyone under strain, but those in Slytherin house found the tensions to be the thickest. Allegiances were at once secret and widely known. No one would ask who you supported, but everyone seemed to know exactly where you stood. Blaise finally saw the war and blood politics for what it was – it was in his school, sleeping in the beds around him, in every class and during every meal. This was his turning point, where he realized that the politics of blood had real life consequences, that life under an evil wizard was far worse than one where he occasionally had to correct a muggleborn about how to grasp a broomstick. So he found himself in the position of being a known blood purity supporter in Slytherin house while the Dark Lord was rising, without wanting to pledge his allegiance. While others in his year had gravitated towards Him, still deluded with notions of power and grandeur, Blaise ended up with Draco and Theo - the former in disgrace for failing to accomplish his mission, and the latter still quietly lying low.

"It should be illegal to be up this early," Draco grumbled as he slumped into the seat to his right. Theo laughed settling in across from the two.

"It's your own fault for pouting for so long! You know how shite Blaise is with potions," he said, piling up his plate.

"I'm not bad at potions! It was a rubbish assignment," Blaise scoffed.

"Some would say that the properties of healing potions are the foundation of our entire healthcare system," Draco replied.

"Why should I have to learn about them then? Don't Healers get _paid_ to know that?" Blaise whined. Next to him Draco grumbled something, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Oh bless, you've actually managed to suck the snark straight out of him," Theo said with a smirk. Draco sneered at him.

"You're a right bastard, do you know that?" he growled.

"Aw Theo don't antagonize him," Blaise began, patting Draco on the back. The other boy glared at him but kept to his attention coffee. "Besides, we all know he's still put out about his fiery little angel." Draco choked on his coffee and Blaise smiled smugly to himself.

"My _what!" _Draco yelled, slamming the cup down on the table.

"Now now, don't be so dramatic. It's perfectly normal for you to be kept up at night with dreams about your lady love," he continued, stirring his tea as if the blonde next to him wasn't glowering at him.

"You must be mad if you think you can just sit here and accuse me –"

"Really, yelling at the breakfast table? What are you, five?" Theo interjected with a sigh. "Blaise you should know better than to get her highness all riled up before noon." Draco sputtered incoherently.

"But how can I resist? Listen to all those becoming noise she makes!" Blaise said with a flourish towards the fuming blonde in question.

"Bloody surrounded by fucking _morons_," he grumbled before shoving a piece of toast in his mouth. Theo sighed. Blaise grinned.

As they ate, Blaise mused at his plan to make Draco happy. While they hadn't been close for very long, Blaise was well acquainted with Malfoy's mood swings. He hadn't seen his friend properly happy since early in sixth year, and recent events had been anything but cheerful. His and Theo's fathers were facing charges before the Wizengamot, but unlike Theo, Draco was having a bit of an identity crisis over it.

So Blaise had decided, like any benevolent friend really, that the best way to make his mate happy was to get him laid. Over the summer the three had attended different balls and luncheons and each time Blaise had tried in vain to get the youngest Malfoy into a shrubbery with a witch or two. He had begun to despair that perhaps Draco's obsession with his hair was an indicator of a different kind of taste when the mooning began.

For someone so concerned with appearance and so adept at hiding emotion, Draco was shockingly obvious in his attention to the youngest Weasley. They hadn't even been in school a week before Blaise had mentioned it to Nott. Both boys had laughed at the absurdity – _really, a Malfoy and a Weasley!_ – before they recognized the very real attraction in his gaze. After a few weeks of watching (and mocking of course), Blaise had decided it was time to do something.

It was too easy really. After a particularly boring Charms class, Blaise had casually mentioned how eager he was to pop the youngest Weasley's cherry because she had gotten rather fit over break. Instead of ignoring the comment or going along with it, Draco had done something totally unexpected – he had completely _lost it_. Blaise had been shocked as Draco had been almost disturbingly constrained with his infamous temper since the final battle at Hogwarts. That was when he realized just how interested in Ginny Weasley his best mate actually was. So he had plotted the night before the best way to get his idiot friend into the pants of his arch nemesis' ex-girlfriend.

He hadn't the time to introduce Theo to his plot yet, but so far, he was inclined to think it was a work of pure genius. The lanky boy would probably tell him not to meddle but Blaise had more pressing concerns to attend to. Like how hilarious it would be to see vein in Lucuis' forehead pop out when he discovered his son was in love with a _Weasley_! Epic didn't even begin to describe it.

In his experience, the best way to get someone to admit their feelings was to get them jealous so Blaise had used that as a jumping off point. So far Draco had gone into a jealous rage in front of half the seventh years and was currently sulking into his breakfast. Blaise grinned, wondering at just how far he could push Draco before lunch. Oh yes, it was certainly shaping up to be quite an interesting year.

Let it never be said that Blaise Zabini never did anything for his friends.

"Oy c'mon you two we've got to get to Potions," Theo said, breaking Blaise out of his thoughts. Sighing, he rose and followed his friends out of the Great Hall.

"Remind me again why Potions is mandatory? Can't I just buy any brew I want from an apothecary?" he whined. Draco coolly raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're honestly saying that if I slap a premade label on any potion you would take it without question? I must say Blaise, just when I was starting to think maybe you _did_ have those two brain cells to rub together…"

"Nice to see you can string together complete sentences now," he shot back with a glare. Draco only smirked in response as the three sat themselves in the back row of the classroom.

The rest of the proper seventh year Slytherins and Gryffindors settled it around them while the three chatted idly about their Quidditch teams. Ginny Weasley strode in with Hermione Granger just in time to claim the last table in the front before Slughorn came in to start his lecture.

"Good morning!" the elderly professor began, smiling at his class. "We're going to be doing things a bit differently this year. I've noticed that a lot of your essays are showing a gap between theory and practical application. Now I know it's difficult in potions to really teach you to brew as many potions as you will need in daily life given the brewing times, so I've come up with a project to help rectify this!

"I'll be putting you all in pairs and assigning each pair a complex potion to brew. In order to pass the project, you will need to turn in a properly brewed flask each of your potion." Draco and Theo exchanged a look. "That being said, you will need to put in considerable time outside of class to complete your potion. Both you and your partner needn't complete every step together, but I will have you each do a write up on how well you worked together." Blaise groaned, slouching back in his chair. _Great, not only do I have to be paired with someone at Slughorn's discretion, but I'll have to give up my nights and weekends to _potions? _Bloody brilliant…_

"Right! So listen for your name and move to sit with your partner!"

The three returned to their idle chatter, not really listening as Slughorn paired off Cindy Appleby with Marcus Fletcher.

"Right, Hermione Granger and… Neville Longbottom, you'll be brewing wolfsbane." Draco snickered next to him and Blaise felt himself smirk as well. Even Slughorn pawned Longbottom off on Granger to get him out of his hair. "Let's see… right, Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini, you two will brew draught of living death." Blaise grinned broadly as Draco scowled at him.

"How utterly perfect, paired with my dear, dear friend!"

"If you think I'm going to brew this potion on my own while you're off playing 'find the snitch' with your Hufflepuff you are sorely mistaken," the blonde snapped, crossing his arms.

"You're just bitter because your love life is so dull," he retorted.

"Right, because making up fanciful stories to wank to about rich witches in Paris is so much more thrilling," Draco replied with a smirk. Blaise clenched his jaw.

"I'm not making up-"

"Theodore Nott and Ginevra Weasley will have polyjuice potion! Right that's all of you, time to move and sit next to your partner," Slughorn finished. Draco sat straight up in his chair and Blaise felt his jaw slacken. It was as if Merlin himself had blessed his plan!

Theo gathered up his books and moved towards the front of the classroom, slowly trudging up next to Weasley. She barely spared him a glance as he sat down and scooted her chair to the far side of the table.

The rest of the class passed without incident, although Blaise could barely contain his glee. He couldn't wait to get Theo in on his plan – and considering the boy was partners with the unacknowledged object of Draco's affection was perfect. When they were dismissed from class he hurried to catch up with Theo to walk to Divination which they both took while Draco suffered away in Ancient Runes. Blaise couldn't understand why anyone would take such a boring subject though when he had mentioned this to the other boy the only response he got was a sardonic smirk.

"Theodore Nott, just the man I need to speak with," he said as they fell in step. Theo raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're in an awfully good mood today."

"Yes well doing good deeds has a positive effect on people. Or so I'm told at least."

"Good deeds, eh? This wouldn't have anything to do with trying to force Draco into the clutches of another female does it?"

"You make it sound like they're going to maim him or something!"

"If I recall by the time he was able to pry himself away from Astoria he had bruises all down his neck," Theo said as they walked up the staircase.

"Those were hickeys," Blaise replied with a dismissive wave.

"Then why were they shaped like fingers?"

"_Anyway…_ this new plan is brilliant, even you will be impressed."

"Alright I'm listening." Blaise glanced around and pulled Theo into a deserted corridor.

"We are going to hook Draco up with Weasley." Theo stared at him for a minute before realizing Blaise was finished.

"That's it? That's your big plan?"

"Well yeah. I'm sort of winging it. I've noticed that fate seems to be enjoying it."

"Fate?" Theo said skeptically.

"Obviously! Why else would she be your partner?"

"Maybe because Slughorn was pairing people in a pattern? I mean Nott and Weasley are almost as distant and Malfoy and Zabini. If it was fate wouldn't he have paired the two of them together?"

"Don't be stupid, if fate had paired them together it would have been too much too soon. Besides it's better this way - you can work on convincing her that he's not pure evil while I keep goading him into realizing that he's mad for her."

Theo sighed, walking back towards the Divination tower. "I don't have much of a choice in helping you, do I?"

"Of course not," Blaise said with a cheeky smile. "I'm only asking to be polite. But make no mistake, you're helping me or else I'm telling everyone you have syphilis."

"I do not!" Theo yelped.

"I know that, but people are much more apt to believe the worst. Makes for better gossip," he said, smirking. Oh yes, things were coming along brilliantly for Blaise Zabini indeed.

* * *

><p>Next time:<p>

Ch. 3: If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail (In which Blaise and Hermione set their "plans" into action…)


End file.
